


Crossing the Line

by servatia83



Category: The Chronicles of the Raven - James Barclay
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2015-07-09
Packaged: 2018-04-08 11:26:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4303035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/servatia83/pseuds/servatia83
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will wants to pay an unannounced visit that changes him for good ... Or does it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I am defeat

**Author's Note:**

> ((This is, actually, meta plot. The large story to which it belongs (and for which it is a bit of a spoiler, but I don’t care if you don’t) will be published. Soon-ish. I’ve got a major portion done and will continue writing once I’m done with my current work. Which is … actually almost the case.  
> The chapter headings don’t seem to make much sense. Originally, there weren’t any. Now there are. A good observer familiar with their source will notice that the last two don’t follow the previous one. They’re taken from Britten’s Hymn to Santa Cecilia, or rather from Auden’s text.))

Will had a big smile on his face as he knelt before the door. Hands steady and practised, he worked the lock within seconds. For a moment he considered knocking and announcing himself, but then again, it was only Kajan. Kajan liked surprises, and he knew Will well enough to see that it was all good humour. Carefully, he opened the door and slipped into the dark house.

For a moment Will thought he heard a voice, but now he listened all was silent. He must have been wrong. Kajan was certainly sleeping at this time. But then the sound came again. Kajan’s voice, but Will didn’t think he was talking. His smile widened. Probably being naughty. Well, he’d give him a hand in that. There it came again, definitely a moan, and not the pained kind. Chuckling to himself, Will proceeded less carefully. Kajan was not going to hear him.

Standing before the door to the bedroom, Will hesitated again. It was an intrusion to just enter unannounced. But then again, they had been lovers for over a year, and Will had come to care for the other man so deeply. The way Kajan treated him was so intense, so loving, there was nothing that he could do wrong by just going in. And so he did.

For a moment, Will stared in disbelief at the scene he found. His heart beat low and steadily, belying the chaos that was building in his gut, his brain, his very soul. ‘Kajan,’ he breathed, then said the name again, yelling this time. A stunned silence followed. Still, the calm inside Will was present, but it felt cancerous. He stood unmoving as Kajan disentangled himself from someone and looked at him. Will didn’t register or care if the other person was a man or a woman, he was never able to tell afterwards. All that mattered was what Kajan had done. The other man approached slowly while Will stood frozen. Will forced his eyes away from his middle and to the face of the man he thought loved him.

‘Look, you should not just have entered,’ Kajan said. No remorse, just an accusation.

The absurdity of that bred something deadly inside the shocked man. Will sank to the ground, as though shaken so much he couldn’t keep standing. Still fixing Kajan with his eyes, his hand travelled to his boot undiscovered in the darkness. ‘Are you sorry?’ Will’s voice was rough. It was all he needed to hear in order to go meekly and never come back.

The other man crouched before him and shook his head. ‘You are fun, Will, but not someone to love. You cannot even be trusted.’

Will shot forwards. He was small and not very strong, but he had the element of surprise on his side. He bowled the other man to the ground and slashed at his face with his dagger. And again. And again.

Ϡ

Jandyr nudged Thraun. ‘Are you even listening?’

Thraun shook his head. ‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I still don't believe it.’

The elf made a face. ‘Well, unless I’m very wrong, you should consider yourself lucky. Remember the corpse they found three weeks ago? The ones before that? All killed during or after sex, and with another man, they think. I know that doesn’t make it less painful, but I for one am glad you’re alive.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous, he wouldn’t do that,’ Thraun said dismissively. ‘He just left, he didn’t even try to attack me. Plus, that would be a big secret.’

Jandyr stared at his friend for a few seconds, then he started laughing. Hard. It was a rare enough event, and Thraun, despite his pain, had to smile. ‘That was a ridiculous thing to say, wasn’t it?’

Jandyr wiped over his eyes. ‘Yes, it definitely was,’ he confirmed. ‘Anyway, it has to be tonight, Thraun. And without a thief.’

Thraun sighed. ‘I know.’

Ϡ

It was really just a reconnaissance mission, they had thought. And now Jandyr was injured and fleeing and he was cornered. A well-aimed arrow grazed his sword hand and the blade fell to the ground with a clatter. He had only one way out, the only reason why Jandyr had left him rather than die trying to help. Thraun’s one way out. He crashed along the street to give himself the peace he needed for a few moments only.

Ϡ

Heart beating up in his throat, Will watched what has happening directly under his window. First he had thought his eyes betrayed him when he recognised Thraun with his back against the wall. But the gravelly voice telling the guards earnestly that they should leave could not be mistaken. Guilt ate at his guts. He should have slit his throat just like those others. Or perhaps, he should have …

It was moot. He had always been fucked up, and he was getting worse by the day. He might as well show the world. It would be a nice way to make his point to just shove the man into the swords of the guards. He ran out into the street to intercept him. Thraun would be in the alley behind, trying to ambush them. He would …

For the second time in his life, Will was completely incapable to react to the situation he saw. Thraun was lying naked on the floor, curled up like a small child. A shudder went through his body, and then the change began. Transfixed, Will watched limbs elongating, fur growing from the skin beneath, heard how bones broke to be reformed. He swallowed hard. Of all the things he had expected he would ever witness, this was the last. The guards were coming. They would not be able to kill a shape-changer. Will turned.

He had barely made it back to the door, when a yelp cut through his thoughts. He spun and saw a guard lashing at Thraun - the wolf, he corrected himself. The vicious swipe should have killed him, but it bounced off him as though his skin was mail. One of the guards had a torch. Now this might hurt him. ‘No,’ he said softly. ‘Bastards!’ He got their attention. Thraun’s too, but he didn't care. Knife in hand, Will rushed to the side of the beast. ‘You don’t,’ he told the man with the torch. Feinting right with the knife, he punched him with the left hand. Dazed, the guard stepped backwards and the right hand followed quickly, burying the knife in his eye.

Slowly, the rush was leaving him. They were alone, the guards dead. Seven of them, only two by his hands. Thraun stared at him, yellow eyes holding bloodlust but no recognition. Will let his knife fall, knowing it wouldn't help him. ‘Thraun … I’m not afraid of you.’ It was true, somehow. He knew he might be dead in a few minutes, but somehow he didn’t care. ‘I’m sorry, you know. I wish I hadn’t left you. I wish you knew who I am, then I’d tell you all of it and ask you to forgive me. Thraun, why don’t you remember me?’ The wolf pounced, knocking him onto his back. Paws stood heavy on his chest, the hot breath of the beast was close to his skin. ‘Thraun,’ he whispered, barely audibly, ‘remember me. Remember.’ Unable to watch the jaws closing on his face, Will shut his eyes. But the pain never came. The weight left him, and he dared to look.

There he sat, a human again, arms slung around knees, eyes staring unseeing at the floor. Without a word, Will sat up, wrapping his arms around the much larger man in a protective gesture. ‘You are safe with me,’ he said, hatred bleeding out of him and leaving him sad at what he had become. ‘And I know I’m safe with you. Don’t ever let me down, Thraun. Ever.’


	2. When it knows it

Will was leaning against the wall of a house, sweat running down his face, his hair plastered to his forehead. ‘Gods, you are a terror on the face of Balaia. I’m going to have a heart attack because of you.’

Privately, Thraun admired the other man. He hadn’t believed he would be able to keep up with him for so long. It looked like he had reached the end of his capacities now, at least. ‘So stop following me.’

Will brushed his hand over his face, wiping sweat from his brow. ‘I want you to talk to me. I still can’t believe you didn’t bite my head clean off, and I would like to know why. Hell, what happened to you anyway? How do you do that? Can I learn this?’

Thraun looked at him with a hard glare. His eyes then fixed a point behind Will and he fidgeted with his belt. ‘You can’t, and you shouldn’t want to. I really don’t want to talk about this, least of all with you.’

Will watched Thraun’s expression. He had seen it on people before, recently more often. It was the look of a man who was cornered. Will shook himself and pushed what Thraun had changed into from his mind. He was a man, whatever else he might become under certain circumstances. ‘I understand that.’ Will swallowed, looking away from the taller man. ‘I really do. But understand me too, Thraun. Tell me why I fought with you and not against you. Tell me why I shouldn’t go to the college and point them to you.’

Thraun huffed and started walking away. ‘Do what you like.’

Will stared after him for perhaps a second before he spoke again. ‘Thraun. Please. Help me understand this.’

Thraun stopped and took a deep breath. ‘I am a shape-changer, as you already know.’ Will had heard about that before, but he had never stopped to think about what they actually were. He had half doubted they existed. ‘I was born one, because my ancestors were mages that messed with things they should never have touched. I cannot get rid of it. Do what everyone does and leave. Now at least you have a reason.’

The guilt Will had felt at the sight of Thraun with his back against the wall had returned, only a lot more intense and with the aggression gone. All he wanted to do was to hug Thraun, but he felt that would only send him running again. ‘You have no friends at all, do you?’

At last, Thraun turned back to face him. ‘I do, not many, but enough.’

For a moment Will thought he meant him and he knew it showed on his face. But then it struck him who it had to be. ‘Jandyr.’ He had talked about his friend, he remembered now. ‘He knows who you are?’ Thraun nodded. ‘Good. That’s good.’ He shook himself visibly. ‘Then you have no need of someone like me.’

Thraun tensed and glared at Will. ‘That’s not fair. You had no need of me, and that was before you knew.’

Will shrugged. ‘Need’s the wrong word, I’ll give you that. But that wasn’t even it. Let’s say I’ve got a big secret.’ Thraun snorted at that and Will smiled. ‘Worse than yours.’

Thraun opened his mouth then took a step backwards. ‘Oh no. Jandyr’s right, it _is_ you! You are the stranger killer!’

Will bit his lower lip. His eyes flashed to Thraun’s and away again quickly. ‘Yes.’

Thraun moved back towards him, towering before him and obviously using all the self-restraint he had not to strike him down. ‘Why on earth did you do that?’

Will shrugged without flinching from Thraun’s yelling or the wild look in his face. ‘I have a reason, but no excuse. And I wish … I wish I had met you sooner, before all this.’

Thraun averted his face from Will, his expression full of genuine disgust. ‘I wish I hadn’t met you at all!’ The smaller man before him looked so utterly dejected that he almost regretted his words. Almost. ‘Gods, how could you do such a thing? What was going on in your mind?’

Will shook his head fractionally. He couldn’t hope for understanding. Now Thraun asked him for a reason, he found it was a feeble rationalisation and for the first time he started to think about what he had done. ‘That I wanted to stop anyone from betraying me ever again,’ he said finally, his throat dry. ‘And before you ask, I have no idea why I didn’t kill you.’

Thraun gaped at him, disgust slowly giving way to disbelief. ‘You have some nerve, saying this with such coldness.’

Will stared at him hard and caught Thraun’s eye. The other man didn’t look away again. Will’s eyes were burning, and he had to use all of his willpower to stop his lower lip from trembling. When he started talking, his voice was almost steady. ‘I’m not cold, Thraun, quite the contrary. I am burning, it’s eating me alive. I’m a sick bastard, and I know it and, Gods, I hate it.’

Thraun kept his eyes on Will’s. He tried to see evil there, or insanity, but he found neither. What he saw was a man who had been broken completely. He couldn’t see the burning Will had spoken of. He found only emptiness left by a fire long burnt down. ‘You can say that. I cannot even get myself to call you names. I have no right.’

Will snorted, and the spell broke. There was contempt on the little man’s face, the slight tremble gone. But now he had seen behind this, Thraun realised his confidence was a façade, and a very thin one at that. ‘You cannot choose who you are, but you can choose what you do,’ Will said.

Thraun nodded slowly. ‘And sometimes I choose to turn into the wolf. I do not have to.’

Will waved his answer away. ‘It’s not really a choice if you’d die otherwise, I think.’

Thraun sighed. This was not an argument for him. He had toyed with the thought of ending this madness for good, never too seriously, but enough to make him wonder if it wasn’t actually cowardice that stopped him. ‘Death might be better, Will. But people tend to prefer living anyway.’ He shook his head. ‘You are not a bad person, I think. Don’t become one.’

Will swallowed and closed the distance to Thraun until they stood only inches apart. He looked up at him, feeling smaller than ever in his life. ‘I’m so sorry, Thraun.’

Thraun raised both hands before him and stepped away. He shook his head firmly. ‘Don’t go there.’


	3. Can now do nothing

His head was spinning. He had barely eaten in the last three days, but now he had downed an entire bottle of wine, and he felt it keenly. The older man sitting across him disgusted him, and he would pay the price for that later. Not much later. Will shook himself and plastered a smile on his face. ‘Wanna go home? It’s getting late.’

The older man grinned at him and got to his feet. He tossed a silver coin to one of the serving girls and led the way out to the street. Will followed him, the cool night air lessening the fuzz in his brain. The other man was equally drunk, and he wouldn’t be able to defend himself much. Normally Will would have been sober, and normally that man wouldn’t have been an option. So far Will had chosen men he felt attracted to, but tonight a wobbly chunk of stale meat would have to do.

A hand gripped his arm and pulled him close. The breath that hit his face smelled strongly of wine. ‘Need a roof over your head for this?’ It struck Will that he didn’t even know his name. ‘I want you right here.’

Will grinned. This was way too easy. It was dark, and in this place no one with a clean enough conscience to talk to the guards would linger at that time of night. The only thing that might happen was a patrol, but Will could be quick.

As the fat man moved close to him, he felt a sense of dread overcoming him, not of the man and being close to him, but of what he intended to do to him afterwards. He swallowed. ‘Wait. What’s your name?’

The other man started groping at him, hands pawing at his pants. His breath was coming fast. ‘How’s that important?’

Will backed away, anxious to get some space between them. ‘I’m sorry. You should go. Go fast. I’m bad news.’

The man blinked slowly. Will felt his back hit the wall, his mind slowed by the wine, and moved sideways an instant too late. The other man’s bulk blocked Will’s way, and his attempt to push him away left him unimpressed. He had his hands clamped on Will’s arms, his grip hard and painful. His face was only an inch from Will’s. ‘I don’t think so.’

Will forced himself to stop struggling and calm down. ‘Don’t do this. I don’t want to hurt you.’

The other man laughed. His body was pressing close to Will, who could feel his arousal. Hips bucked against him, one hand started fumbling with his breeches. Fear flooded Will’s body and soul, driving him close to panic. It cost him all the self-control he could muster not to scream. He felt his heart beating in his throat as the large man rubbed against him, sweating and promising abuse. ‘You’re tiny,’ the fat man said simply.

Will felt anger surge in him and driving some sense back into him. He was not going to let him do this thing to him. Not this. He’d rather die fighting. ‘I’ll give you tiny.’ Will twisted slightly so he could reach his dagger. He never got there.

The fat man, suddenly limp, leaned against him even more heavily before slumping to the floor. A guard came running to Will, looking worried. ‘Did he hurt you?’

Will blinked, stepping away from the body. He was inexplicably glad about the fact that he didn’t have to kill the man; or die trying to keep his dignity, which might be much more likely. He knew he was flushed and ruffled, and it must be obvious what the man had tried to do, but he was too relieved to be embarrassed. ‘Not yet. Thank you.’

The guard blinked wistfully at the body. Another was standing behind him, watching the scene in silent disbelief. It struck Will who they thought they had caught in the act and couldn’t blame them for their dumbfounded expressions. For more than two years they had been hunting for the stranger killer of Dordover – for him. And now here lay an unnamed dead man who would, if he was Dordovan, be identified and take the blame. Will would walk away, actually almost a victim of a drunken rapist, and in the eyes of those guards, of the monster that had viciously taken seven lives.

‘This must be him,’ the guard mused, confirming what Will had been thinking. ‘Well, you’re lucky. At least now there will be no more murders.’

Will smiled. ‘Indeed. It’s over.’


	4. By suffering

A sharp knock woke Will up late into the next morning. He groaned and pulled his blanket over his head. Not that it was thick enough to keep the light out. ‘Go away.’ His own voice sounded strange in his ears.

‘Open that damn door, you fuck,’ a voice he knew too well boomed.

Will jerked upright and ran to the door. The moment he reached it, he thought that this kind of greeting should rather send him escaping through the window, but his hand was already on the handle. He had barely pulled the door open when a fist collided with his jaw and sent him flying.

The rather impressive figure of Thraun followed, straddling him and staring at him hard. ‘How dare you?’

‘I honestly have no idea what on earth you want from me,’ Will said.

Again, Thraun struck him, hitting his temple this time.

For a moment, Will’s vision blackened. If he passed out, Thraun might beat him to death. Thraun. Gentle, kind Thraun … he hadn’t killed him, but he’d apparently ruined him. ‘Kill me and be done with it, or ask like a normal person!’ Will grated, forcing himself to remain calm.

‘You vile, disgusting shit,’ Thraun said with more venom than Will had thought him capable of. ‘Don’t pretend you don’t know what this is about. You got him killed!’

‘Who? You don’t by any chance mean the fat bastard that tried to rape me, do you?’ The answer died in Thraun’s throat. ‘Before you hit me again, tell me who we’re talking about. I didn’t get anyone killed, not intentionally. I wanted to … to do what you know I did before and changed my mind. I told him to leave me alone but he tried to get me anyway, and a guard killed him. He thought he’s me, and I didn’t correct him.’

‘He would never have hurt anyone!’ Thraun said emphatically.

‘He bruised me, if you get off me, you can look. Perhaps then you’ll believe me. Who was he?’

‘A friend,’ Thraun said. ‘Or so I thought.’

‘One out of two?’ Will asked.

Thraun glared at him, then nodded. ‘Well, not entirely. Almost.’

‘I hope Jandyr’s a better one.’ He managed a smile. Perhaps Thraun wasn’t going to kill him after all. ‘Would you please use a chair if you want to have a seat? You’re kind of heavy sitting on my lower belly.’

Thraun moved away and Will got to his feet. A wave of pain and nausea washed over him, and he swayed. Thraun reached out and grabbed his arm. ‘I’m sorry. Will you be all right? I know a mage, if you need help.’

Will shook his head. ‘No, I’m just hung over. Gods, but you are strong. I don’t know you like that, Thraun.’

‘Nor do I,’ the big man said. There was a deep sadness in his eyes. ‘I thought I could hate you, but now I can’t.’

Will raised his eyebrows and sat down on his bed. ‘Well, I’m sorry for your loss. I mean, I’m not sorry he’s dead, but I am sorry you lost who you thought he was.’

‘It happens,’ Thraun said.

Will leaned forwards and looked at him. ‘It doesn’t have to become a pattern. Look, you shut me up last time, but I want to spell this out for you. I left because I got to care about you, and I feared … I was scared of getting hurt again. If you tell me you’re not going to, I’ll believe you. I’ll certainly not hurt you, not in any way.’

‘And who is to say you’re not going to kill me if you change your mind?’ Thraun asked.

Will’s lips curled. ‘Well, you would have to trust me and to accept what I’ve done. I see the problem. You should go, Thraun. I have a headache, I’m tired, and I’m sad.’

‘Do you have any real friends?’ Thraun asked.

Will smirked. ‘A vile, disgusting shit like me? Hardly.’


	5. I shall never be

‘You’d think Dordover is a big enough city for more than one thief,’ Thraun growled. ‘What are you doing here?’

Will sighed. He turned away from his quarry and faced Jandyr and Thraun. The expression and posture of big warrior held no threat and Will relaxed. ‘Same as you. Recovering the pendant that belongs to Minh.’

Thraun chuckled. ‘Recovering? Is that what you call it?’

Will smiled back at the taller man. ‘Since it’s hers, yes. Do you even know what it is, or did your customer send you to steal a ruby?’ Will eyed the locked cabinet. ‘You have two options. You could let me have it, because I can get it without waking up everyone in the house. Or you could smash the cabinet with that clumsy big sword of yours and get caught.’

Jandyr huffed and glared at the small man. ‘Or we could let you get it and take it from your corpse.’

Thraun frowned. ‘Easy, Jandyr. What is it, if it’s not a ruby?’

Will scratched at his beard and looked wistfully at the lock. ‘Hmm, Thraun, if you don’t mind let’s decide first and chat later. We’re still breaking and entering. Well, technically, I was breaking and entering, you just waltzed through the door I conveniently opened.’

Jandyr bridled. ‘You know what, I’m done talking to that little rat.’ He trained his bow on Will, but Thraun quickly put his hand on it and manoeuvred it out of harm’s way.

‘Don’t.’ His voice was gruff. ‘You take it, we leave and discuss this.’ He turned to Jandyr. ‘We are not killing him. Let him be.’

Will smiled vaguely and knelt before the cabinet. The lock was complicated, and Jandyr with a wish to spill his blood behind him was not making him any calmer, but he managed. He retrieved the pendant on its silver chain and pocketed it. ‘Let’s go somewhere more secluded. I intend to die screaming, and it would be a shame if you two were to get caught because of that.’

Ϡ

The look on Jandyr’s face was more than sour. Will had explained that this item was, supposedly, very unique and crafted by the Julatsan mage from whom it had been stolen. By whom was anyone’s guess because she wouldn’t say, but somehow it had made its way into Dordover and the house of a collector of rare items. The Julatsan, an elven mage called Minh, had traced it there, but preferred to ask someone else to take it.

Thraun and Jandyr on the other hand had been hired by an aspiring Dordovan who wanted to do research with it, but assumed the owned wasn’t going to let her have it. She had said it was more than a stone, but what it did, she hadn’t. Nor had Minh. Thraun’s mage wanted the item returned after she was done with it, so technically it wasn’t theft but borrowing.

The pendant lay in the centre of the table around which the three were grouped. Will could practically see how hard Thraun was thinking. Neither of them wanted a fight, but neither would just let go of it. Will looked at Thraun. ‘Your mage, do you think she’ll damage it during her research?’

Thraun, who had been staring silently at the small object, shook himself out of his reverie. He sighed. ‘No. No, I don’t think so. I doubt if she knew it was stolen. She just heard from someone it was there, and she wasn’t very open about who had told her that. As far as I know her, she’ll want it returned to the actual owner. She’s a good person.’

Will nodded. Minh was now back in Julatsa. She had told him she wanted it back safe rather than quick, so he had time. ‘Ask her. Tell her I was there before you, and tell her I’ll let her work with it if she will return it to me safely.’

Thraun blinked and looked into Will’s eyes. ‘And you’ll believe her?’

Will smiled. He rested his arms on the table and supported his chin on his hands. ‘I’ll believe you and your judgement. If she lies anyway, I’ll tell my employer it was already gone. For that eventuality I would like to have the chain. Then it will be clear someone took it for its magic and not its value, and she’ll see I tried.’ Jandyr snorted. ‘What?’

‘It’s just some silver chain, it could be anyone’s.’

Will shook his head and tutted.

Jandyr leaned across the table and stared into Will’s face. ‘Drop the act, you arrogant little prick! You can be glad I’m not Thraun, for I would have done you in. I still want to.’

Will averted his gaze from the elf and stared straight at Thraun. ‘It has an engraving on the clasp. When she’s done, you know where to find me. I’m done here.’ He rose and left before Thraun could stop him.


	6. Different. Love me.

Will heard the soft knock on the door in the late morning. He took a pan with meat from the stove. He wouldn’t risk burning such a rare treat. A smile spread on his face when he saw Thraun – a lot sooner than he had believed – and he received a small one himself. ‘She’s done,’ Thraun said. ‘She was very excited about what she found, but I didn’t understand a word she said. She says it’s good you want to return it to the Julatsan.’  
Thraun offered the pendant to Will, who took it and nodded his thanks. ‘Want to come in?’ he asked, and after a moment of hesitation, Thraun stepped inside. ‘Jandyr still having a wish to murder me?’  
Thraun sighed. ‘No. I tried to tell him you don’t deserve it, and I think he got it.’ He shook his head. ‘I don’t know which I want to do, run away as far as Gyernath, or … I don’t know.’  
Will cocked his head. ‘What do you mean, Thraun? What would you run away from?’  
Thraun snorted. ‘You.’  
Will scratched at the stubble on his chin. ‘Oh.’ He glanced up at the sad eyes of the tall man before him. They were green with a yellow ring around them and absolutely unique. ‘What’s the alternative?’  
Thraun shrugged. He stared down at the smaller man. He could easily place his chin on top of his head.  
Will realised that too. ‘I hope it’s not killing me. I like my life.’  
‘Really?’ Thraun looked at him hard. ‘What do you have?’  
It was Will’s turn to shrug. ‘Time, if nothing else. I’m eighteen years old, Thraun. I can find myself a life I want to live.’  
‘Ideas?’ Thraun sat down on the bed, and Will pulled up a chair facing him. It creaked threateningly.  
‘Well, if Jandyr wouldn’t hate me so fervently I’d suggest working with you two. I certainly like you. A lot.’  
‘Running has just become even more appealing.’  
Will looked away. He wished he could hate Thraun, it would be so much easier if he were able to feel that deadly loathing. ‘Why are you still here, then? Go, get out, and never come back.’  
Thraun didn’t move. ‘Want me to?’  
Will opened his mouth and closed it again. Slowly, he reverted his face to Thraun, trying to read his expression. There was sadness there, a lot of it. The fingers of his right hand were drumming ceaselessly on his left forearm, and there was tension in the way he held himself.  
‘No,’ Will whispered.  
Thraun ceased his drumming. He reached out a long arm and cupped Will’s cheek. His thumb brushed lightly over his skin and sent a shudder through Will. ‘Then I won’t run.’ Thraun got up and squatted directly next to Will. He took his face into his hands and moved closer.  
Will’s eyes closed before the first tentative contact of Thraun’s lips with his. His hands went one to his chest, the other to the back of his neck, caressing him gently. Even though they had already been a lot closer than this, his heart was racing as if he had never done more than talk to him. A soft whimper escaped his lips and he pulled away. ‘Don’t hurt me, Thraun,’ he said. It sounded more like a plea than he had intended.  
Thraun looked at him firmly, eyes alight and the sadness chased away. He smiled, his features so much softer for the change. ‘Never.’  
Ϡ  
Thraun awoke to a ray of light on his face and the soft caress of breath on his skin. He kept his eyes closed for a few moments, enjoying the sensation of a warm body pressed against him, a hand on his chest, and a head resting on his shoulder. He sighed.  
‘Morning.’ Will’s speech was slightly slurred. ‘Gods, I could stay here like this for the rest of the day.’  
Thraun nodded, then realised that Will couldn’t see that if his eyes were closed as well. ‘Me too. I’m not sure what surprises me more, that I’m still alive or that this wasn’t a dream.’  
Will shifted, moving away. The loss of immediate contact made Thraun finally look at the other man. ‘If that’s what you were thinking, then what did you stay for?’ There was no anger in Will’s voice, but disappointment was written plainly on his face.  
Thraun realised he had broken his promise never to hurt him very quickly. He reached for Will’s hand and held it, hoping he could repair the damage he had done to a man who was already bleeding and convey what he felt. ‘I … that was a stupid thing to say, Will. I’m so sorry.’  
Will shrugged, pulling his hand away. ‘I suppose I deserve no better.’  
Thraun sat up and pulled Will close to him. The little man was tense but didn’t resist, and Thraun dared to breathe again. He planted a gentle kiss on his temple.  
‘If I thought that I wouldn’t be here. What I tried and failed to say was that I am in absolute bliss. Don’t kick me out, Will, please.’  
Will snuggled close into the warm embrace and shook his head. ‘No, Thraun. Just … trust me, will you? I need that, especially from you.’  
Thraun smiled. He pushed Will far enough back to tilt his face up. ‘I do. That’s why I’m here. And I’ll show you somehow if you’re still willing to let me.’ Gently, Thraun kissed him. His tongue caressed Will’s lips, which opened and allowed him entrance. Will positively melted into his form, and to Thraun he felt small and vulnerable and very different to just a few hours previously where he had taken the lead quickly, brimful of confidence. Without breaking the contact Thraun laid him onto his back. They weren’t going to leave this bed any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((I tend to do this. If I have a background I know I’ll get into and that I need to develop in depth, I write it down. In the long story, this is explained within less than a page (although it has a greater impact), but I had to have more for myself. In this case, enough to publish it.))


End file.
